Former No. 1 and current No. 14 seed Ana Ivanovic took what she felt was rightfully hers on Sunday at the Australian Open, coming from a set down to stun world No. 1 Serena Williams 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a round of 16 match.

The Serb, who had never previously won a set off Williams, took the match to the younger Williams sister. If she wasn’t breaking down the Williams backhand through long rallies, she was ripping effortless forehand winners past the Williams’ forehand side on critical points.

Afterwards the media coaxed Williams into talking about the back injury she had been dealing with on the practice court since beating Daniela Hantuchova.

“I made a tremendous amount of errors, shots I missed I normally don’t miss,” she said. “I haven’t missed since the ’80s. I’m just not used to missing those shots. She made some good shots, and I just made way, way, a lot of unforced errors…Maybe I wasn’t the best physically, but that had nothing to do with it. I think Ana just played a really good match. She did what it takes to win.”

Ivanovic ended the 25-match winning streak of the reigning No. 1.

“I had to remind myself all the time just to stay in the moment,” said the confident Ivanovic. “Because there were moments in the match where it could have gone either way. I could have just made a few more errors. But I really just believed in my game and stepped up when I needed to…I just really enjoy competing. Like I said, I’m not afraid going deep against these top players. I feel ready, and I want to challenge everyone out there.”

In the quarterfinals Ivanovic will face Canadian upstart and No. 30 seed Eugenie Bouchard, who tamed both the Aussie crowds and unseeded homecountry favorite Casey Dellacqua 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0.

“She beat Serena so she’s playing really well,” Bouchard said of Ivanovic. “We’re in the quarters now, so she deserves to be there. No one’s going to give it to me, so it’s going to be a good match.”

Bouchard, competing in her first Australian Open after quickly making the transition from the junior ranks, is the first Canadian into a Grand Slam quarterfinal in 21 years.

Also upset-minded was Italian veteran and No. 28 seed Flavia Pennetta, who out-grounded No. 9-seeded German Angelique Kerber 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. In the quarterfinals she will again have her hands full against No. 4 seed Li Na, who steamrolled No. 22 Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-0.

“I would like to be back in the Top 20,” said Pennetta upon hearing her first Aussie Open quarterfinal will propel her back into the Top 20. “Of course my dream is to be back in the Top 10, but is gonna be tough. The season is so long. It just start. For the moment, it’s so good, so I hope to just keep going.”

Results on the men’s side Sunday were far less dramatic as the seeds fell in line to advance into the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Novak Djokovic led the charge, having his way with the upright Italian and No. 15 seed Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.

“I felt from the start of this tournament that I’ve been elevating my game as the tournament is going on,” Djokovic said. “Every match is better. The general feeling on the court, all the shots, using the court position really well, being aggressive, playing my style of the game. That’s what I’ve done really well today overall from the first to the last point. I haven’t allowed my opponent to come back to the match.”

Djokovic also said his coach Boris Becker did not take offense at his on-court Becker impression.

“I’ve seen his face reactions,” Djokovic said. “The first impression, when I’ve done all the serves, he was happy and he is applauding. When I said how he is today with his problems in the back and everything, he was not so happy about that. He was upset (smiling). But, no, it’s all for good laughs. It’s actually the first time after a long time I’ve actually done Becker imitation. I don’t know how I was. Was okay? I’m going to gain few kilos and have to color my hair in order to do the proper Becker imitation (media laughter).”

In the quarters the Serb will face No. 8 seed Stan Wawrinka, who in the last night match defeated No. 17 Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-6(5). The first serve made the difference for the Swiss, with Wawrinka winning 90 percent of his first serve points compared to 70 percent for the Spaniard.

“I know that he’s playing the tennis of his life in last 15 months,” Djokovic said of Wawrinka. “He’s Top 10 player now. He’s established himself in the top level. He won against some top guys in the big tournaments. He is confident. You could feel that mentally when he comes to the court, he believes in himself more. He can win against the top guys in the later stages of events. So, you cannot expect a clear favorite in that match.”

Also advancing to a quarterfinal meeting were No. 3 David Ferrer and No. 7 Tomas Berdych. Ferrer needed to come from a set down to defeat unseeded German Florian Mayer 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2, 6-1, while Berdych faced a mirror image of his game in No. 19 seed Kevin Anderson, but battered the South African 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

“I have a good memories from last season, which is not that far ago,” Berdych said of facing Ferrer. “We play twice, in Bercy and in London. I beat him in London. That I play really well. The week before in Paris Bercy, I was very close. I lost to him in three sets. So, I’m going to have a plan and I hope it’s going to be the right one.”

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Serena Williams has lost in the fourth round at two of her last three Grand Slams. Williams hasn’t won the Australian Open since 2010…That was the first time Ana Ivanovic has ever won a match point against a world No. 1… Novak Djokovic has won his last 28 matches. He’s also won 25 straight in Melbourne and he hasn’t lost a set… Tomas Berdych has won all 53 service games this week. Rafael Nadal also hasn’t lost serve… Novak Djokovic has reached 19 straight Grand Slam quarterfinals. Roger Federer leads all players having reached 36 in a row… David Ferrer has won four of six against Tomas Berdych on hardcourts… Victoria Azarenka has won 17 straight matches at the Australian Open… If Roger Federer loses to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, would Stanislas Wawrinka become the new Swiss No. 1? Discuss!…. Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka will play in the third straight hardcourt major… Tomas Berdych has beaten Kevin Anderson the last three years at the Australian Open… How many top-ranked players has Euginie Bouchard beaten this week? Um, none…. Andy Murray plays a lucky loser on Monday, how lucky is that while Federer drew Tsonga… David Ferrer has advanced to the quarterfinals at nine straight Slams… Kei Nishikori once took a set off Rafael Nadal…. Rafael Nadal has exactly 666 career wins. Ok…. No Japanese player has ever beaten Nadal… Roger Federer on player’s who look to their box the entire match or receive illegal coaching from their player’s box: “I feel like it’s like in school, you do your work. At home, you get ready for the test, and then the test, you don’t cheat and you try to do your best. I see it the same way in tennis.”…It’s Australian Open time, so it’s also time for the annual update on the troubled former world No. 4 Jelena Dokic. The Reader’s Digest version: she’s 30, she failed to win an Aussie Open wildcard, she played in the doubles, still trying to rebound from wrist surgery and mono, still not in great shape, still won’t talk about her dad who was banned from the WTA tour, is based in Melbourne, and will play low-level ITF events in the coming months… Aussie Marinko Matosevic melted down on court and in his post-match press conference after losing in five sets to Kei Nishikori. Among the histrionics were getting mad at fans for calling him “Mad Dog” (even though the nickname appears on his personal website) and getting mad at his box and coach Mark Woodforde for not being vocal enough in his support. “I wanted my coach to vocally support me, but he wouldn’t,” he said. “I’ve spoken about it before, but I don’t know. Not disappointed in the lack of support. Some players need verbal support, some don’t. I’m a player that likes it and needs it and wants it. So if my coach is just going to sit there and clap, I expect more.” — How about this, stop looking at your box every point like a WTA player and just play tennis and win the match?

88 Comments for Serena Slumps to Ivanovic; Monday Australian Open Preview

andrea Says:

yay! bouchard is on a role. she beat ana last year but this a different breed of ana. i was very impressed on how she handled serena’s serves. blunted her power. serena’s back or no back trouble, that was a great win for ana – for not having taken a set off serena in previous four tries.

“I wanted my coach to vocally support me, but he wouldn’t,” he said. “I’ve spoken about it before, but I don’t know. Not disappointed in the lack of support. Some players need verbal support, some don’t. I’m a player that likes it and needs it and wants it. So if my coach is just going to sit there and clap, I expect more.”

Ana played fantastically the best I’ve seen from her in years. However, if serena was not injured, then she had a very off day. She was moving terribly always out of position and often hit with diminished power, even her usual “passion” seemed missing. Clearly moving to the backhand was awkward and difficult. But kudos to ana as she really did play fantastically.

It’s unfortunate that every time Kei plays good in a slam, he runs into Nadal, RG last year and now AO. I’d have liked Kei’s chances against Tsonga, Dimitrov, even Federer, but I think he loses in straight sets against Nadal tomorrow.

Matosevic must be a grouch by nature. His only claim to fame in the tennis world was knocking over Rafa’s water bottles and then looking over at him to see his reaction. That was too funny…..He needs to take a chill pill before matches. He’s a riot!! I’ll bet his coach thinks do too.

She’s from Quebec or Montreal (can’t remember which). I thought that was French town? Her name sound French also. But she speaks english like an ordinary canadian (outside of the french part of canada).

She’s been getting a lot of hype at the moment. She’s 19. It’s her first AO and she’s through to the QF.

That sounds impressive but the more I think about it, 19 (she’s 20 next month) is a bit late to be playing your first AO, and there are plenty of women who’ve done more by the age of 19. I think Martina Hingis won the AO 3 times by that age (and a couple of other slams too).

Eugenie has all the credentials to become the next superstar of women’s tennis. On and off the court. With almost 20 years, if she continues that way and conquer great victories, will lead more children to follow her footsteps and Canada is not a shadow of its neighbor as it has been. She and Raonic and Pospisil have a great chance that tennis become a little more popular in the country of the lakes.

@Polo – Yep. Another astonishing record of Graf’s is reaching 13 consecutive Grand Slam finals. She also reached the final of every tournament she played in a period stretching longer than 12 months – I’ve forgotten the precise. Mind boggling.

Those are a couple of reasons I’m reserving judgement on the women’s GOAT debate.

While Steffi Graf is definitely one of the greatest players, I always felt that her achievements after April, 1993 should be treated with a bit of an asterisk. That asterisk, in my opinion (and it’s only an opinion) means that she’s not really part of the GOAT debate since there were more accomplished players without such asterisks.

Gotta remember that at the time Monica Seles had just defeated Graf in 3 of the 4 slam finals they last played. Not to mention that she was undefeated at the AO (after just beating Graf at the AO final in Jan. 1993), and three-time defending champ at both the AO and FO.

Of course, noone can say with certainty what might have happened had things turned out differently, but it seems likely to conclude that Graf would’ve had fewer titles and records had Seles been able to continue playing.

Even if you go to Graf’s wiki page you’ll see that 1993-1996 are titled “Second period of dominance”..

I still can’t believe that Gunter Parche served no jail time whatsoever..20 years later that still pisses me off immensely!!!

Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, it’s pure conjecture. The 3 out of 4 wins in slam finals were a streak – not each one was a blowout, there were tightly contested battles. IMHO you could compare it to Novak’s streak against Nadal from 2011-12. Yet Rafa adjusted and regained the upper hand, so it’s feasible that Steffi could’ve done the same. We’ll never know.

The tipping point for Steffi is her mastery of every surface winning each slam 4 times or more. Seles didn’t seem at all comfortable on grass. To me it’s a tragedy that we were denied the possibility to experience a rivalry to equal Evert/Navratilova.

At the age of 19, Steffi has won a Golden Slam. Nobody else has one. Here’s something about “could haves”, they never happened. Therefore, they do not mean anything and count for nothing in any argument.

yeah the da rafas knee looks bad.. he is def. injured hope he keeps playing though till wimbledon and then takes off a few weeks to get his knee healed…hope he is fine. vamos rafa pls take care of your knee..yours a fan

Even though it looks like he’s going to lose, Kei should walk away encouraged from this performance. Rafa looked rattled. Meanwhile Andy keeps cruising – up 6-1 6-2. Everything working for him today. just a few blips.

The racket break was necessary. Helps Him release the annoyance of having to play a fourth set that way it doesn’t fester. He will take care of this in the fourth. Wish I could sleep tomorrow will be a disaster and my
Kids are home for school

Our guy had a tough one today. His serve saved his bacon, me thinks. Kei played a fantastic match. I am anxious to see the stats.

Your guy Andy is gonna have to play another set. Hope he can pull it out.

Rafa plays Grigor next. That could be a tough one too. Rafa better speed things up a bit. Those lady umpires aren’t showing any mercy…..but it is a rule. She tagged him for on court coaching. He had other problems besides Kei. It is 2:30 am and I guess I will watch Roger and JWT. Should be a good one. I am picking Roger as the winner.

That Robert is a character. Amazing to think he’s been stuck in challengers for so long. Oh well, I guess he needed the extra cardio work and to face a test. The QF is what I hoped for and I think that’ll be what I get.

Roger is playing some sublime tennis too. Won the first by 6-3.
The most interesting thing is he is coming to net far more than he normally do and quite successful in it too. Seems like an edberg effect.

I’m not taking anything away from Fed’s performance. He played excellently, the best I’ve seen in a long time. However, that was poor from Tsonga and he knows it.

Based on Fed’s form tonight Andy might be able to make it competitive for a while, but I don’t think it’s going to be as high quality as last year’s match. If Roger’s serve is a little off, Andy might stand a chance. If Andy has a brain fart like today in the 3rd set, he’ll lose in straights. We’ll see.

Roger just said that he thinks Andy’s BH is better than his. Watch twitter explode. hehe…

Just reading through his presser and found this interesting morsel from him when asked about coming to the net:

“I was actually coming in a lot at the beginning of my career because I didn’t feel I was good enough off the baseline against the great baseliners that were still in the game in my time: Hewitt, Ferrero, Safin, Nalbandian, Agassi.”

“Eventually in 2003 I probably realized I can actually also hang with them from the baseline and beat them. That’s when everything changed. Conditions got slower. I improved from the baseline. My movement got solid. I was fit. That’s then when I went on a run.”

So Federer is confirming that the slower conditions helped him to improve his baseline game and start his successful run of winning titles and slams. How about that?

Golden grand slam is overrated. Margaret Court also won one, but there was no olympics during that year, so she was ineligible for golden slam, but would have won it if it was available (and by the way Tennis was not an olympic sport in her time).

She holds the record for singles titles with 192 (92 in open era).

Also the record for slams won. 24 singles GS, 19 doubles, 21 mixed doubles, with a multitude of different partners.

4 fed cups.

If GOAT is decided by numbers as it seems to be for men, her numbers obliterate Steffi’s.

Okiegal i didnt actually see Rafas match because of work,but im watching highlights now,and indeed Kei played some amazing tennis,but Rafa still managed to come through in staights sets somehow,the guy is as tough as old boots mentally,i hope as you say he speeds up as i wouldnt like to see him lose a point at a crucial time in a match as i would be gutted,im looking forward to his match against Dimitov whos also playing very well,so i hope hes dialed in,i just watched highlights of Andy too,and besides a wobble in set 3 he still looked pretty good IMO,and great to see that Roys post has actually now been removed.

The gateway has really opened for some new talent on the womens side to really make a breakthrough,im delighted that Cibulkova beat Sharapova,i hope she can carry that form into the next match,i dont actually have a favorite female player,but its great to see things opening up and not so predictable for a change.